There was, and there was nothing - The merry blackbird sings, He sends us joy.
There lived a rich man, and he had three daughters and only one son. The time has come for the old man to die, he called his son and said:
“My son, God and fate helped me acquire this wealth. And I myself worked and pushed people, and that’s how I raised you. My life in this world has ended, I am dying and I ask you to marry off your three sisters - the daughters of sin. Don’t look for suitors - whoever shows up first, give it to him.
“Don’t worry, father,” the son answered, “you live, and I’ll be able to find a place for my sisters.”
This rich man died and his son buried him, as law and custom dictate.
Time has passed. One day my son was sitting at the doorstep and saw someone walking far, far away. He walked, walked, came, did not cool down, did not warm up and said:
- Give up your older sister for me.
The son remembered what his father had bequeathed and said:
“Okay, man, I’ll give it to you, but at least tell me your first or last name.” Who are you and where are you from, what is your profession? After all, I should come to you - either worried about an enemy, or simply out of friendship. Maybe you are a thief or a robber. I will give you my sister, and you will take her away and sell her into slavery.
“I didn’t come to talk to you,” says the guest, “I won’t tell you your first or last name.” If you want, give it to your sister, no, then be healthy! - and is already leaving.
The son thought: “Well, it’s not my sin, this is the will of the father,” he took his older sister out and gave her to her.
Time has passed. Another man comes and says:
- Give me your middle sister.
The son asks this too:
-Who are you, man, where are you from, Judas, what are you doing? After all, I must either come to you as guests, or seek protection from the enemy from you, or ask you for help in grief. My sister is mine, my flesh and blood, but who would throw away a sister or brother like that?
“I won’t tell you the name, I won’t tell you about the clan or tribe.” If you want, give your sister, no, I’ll go, you stay,” says the guest.
What should my brother do? I gave him my middle sister, and was only consoled by the fact that I had fulfilled my father’s will.
More time passed, a third man appeared and also asked his younger sister to be his wife. The brother told him the same thing and questioned him, like the first and second, and this one answered like the others.
What should my brother do? He also gave away his younger sister and was left alone.
The young man became sad: “I lost my father, and I don’t know where I scattered my sisters.” He entered the dungeon, locked himself in and sat there, seeing neither day nor night. He sits and sits there alone.
The king found out about it. He called his advisors and ordered:
- Find such a person to bring that young man out of darkness into the light, I will give so much and so much as a reward.
We found an old woman.
“I’ll bring him into the world, just give me two dozen children.”
- Yes, at least a hundred! - they told the old woman, gave her the children and sent her away.
They are waiting. And the old woman took the children, gave them a ball in their hands, led them to the roof of that dungeon and told them to play until nightfall. The children started a game, rushing back and forth, making noise, stomping. The young man endured and endured in his dungeon, but could not bear it, ran upstairs and rushed to catch the children. The royal guards saw the young man, grabbed him and took him to the king.
The king freed the young man and asked:
- What is the reason that you locked yourself in the dungeon?
“I had a father, I buried him,” says the young man, “I had three sisters, and I lost them - I gave them to such people that I didn’t recognize their family or tribe, or where they lived, or what they did.”
- And by whose will did you do this? - asked the king.
- According to the will of the father: he ordered whoever comes first and asks - to give up the sisters without talking.
“So if it’s your father’s will, you’re worrying in vain.” If your father had not had intelligence, he would not have acquired so much wealth. Don’t cry, the time will come - you will see your sisters and sons-in-law, strengthen your heart, don’t grieve!
The king made him senior over his troops and seated him next to him. Once an army went out to hunt. Suddenly they see a girl fluttering in the field from blade to blade of grass, then sitting on one flower, then on another. She is so beautiful, so light, so beautiful - such a beauty cannot be found in life, nor in a dream. Everyone surrounded her, caught her, and she took off, flew over everyone’s heads, flew further away, sat down and played with the flowers again.
The whole army is chasing her, and the eldest is with them, but where can they catch up? She flies up, flies away, sits further away and laughs.
Everyone's horses were worn out, but only the sergeant-major's was still holding on. A young man rushes after a girl, drives his horse, and his horse also falls. The girl rushed by and disappeared. The young man looked around - no girl, no army, no familiar places, no village, no house, no person. The young man sat down and cried.
This Field Maiden approached him, sat down on a flower and said:
“Aren’t you ashamed to sit and cry, are you a man or not?” Get up, look around, the world is great, why are you sitting with folded hands and crying like a woman!
The young man stood up, wiped his tears, looked around and saw a white house visible far, far away. I went to that house. He walked and walked and got there. Looks, the house stands like a royal palace. A stream flows ahead, and water runs from the stream along a silver groove. The young man sat down on the bank of a stream to rest. Sitting tired, hungry.
The maid left the house and approached the stream, holding a jug in her hands. The young man asked to give him a jug of water to drink. The maid gave it. The young man drank water and dropped his ring into the jug. The maid took a jug, filled it with water and brought it to the mistress. She drank the water and a ring fell out of the jug.
The woman saw the ring and screamed:
-Who gave you the ring?
“Nobody gave it to me, there’s a young man sitting by the stream, he asked for water to drink - maybe he threw it there, but there was no one else,” says the maid.
They immediately sent for the young man. He came and saw his older sister. They hugged and kissed.
The sister asks how he got to her. The brother said that he saw a girl in the field:
“Her beauty burned me, I chased after her, and she jumped on a whole plow harness, I chased, I chased, I drove the horse, but I didn’t catch up.” I was left alone in the field and had difficulty finding your house, otherwise I would have been food for the raven in the field.
“Woe is me, brother,” says the sister, “it is not an easy task to catch the Maiden of the Field.” If it were easy, why would your son-in-law take her as his wife, not me. She has such a destiny; As soon as anyone catches her, she will die.
The sister hid her brother, afraid that her husband, Orel, would harm him. In the evening the Eagle appeared.
The wife said to her husband:
- My brother came to visit us, won’t you offend him?
- What, will I offend you? I barely waited for such a guest, call him quickly.
The brother came out, they hugged, kissed, started talking to each other, and Eagle asked:
-What brought you to us?
He told everything in detail.
“Don’t be angry with me, brother,” says the son-in-law, “but if it were possible to catch the Maiden of the Field, why would I need your sister?” It's not easy to do this. And you can’t even match mine, where can you catch up with her? Better leave her, don’t worry, we’ll find you another wife, and forget her.
“No,” says the brother, “I’ll die, I won’t leave her!” And I ask you, my son-in-law, don’t be sorry, give me a horse, I’ll say thank you.
“Don’t worry about the horse,” says the son-in-law, “the fields are full of my herds, take any horse, but still listen to me - give up this matter.”
- I won’t give up - I’d rather die in pursuit of her! - says the brother.
“Then I’ll find you a horse that can immediately jump onto a plow harness.”
The brother remembered that the Field Maiden also jumped the length of the plow harness, and was delighted. He took the horse, jumped on it, said goodbye to the owners and rushed after the Field Maiden.
I soon saw the Field Maiden. The maiden flew away from the young man, and he flew after her. His horse gallops the length of one plow harness, and the girl gallops two lengths,” the young man lagged behind.
He just caught the eye of the Maiden of the Field: when she flies away from him, sits down on the grass, drinks the juice from the flowers like water and eats pollen instead of bread, she herself waits for him, when the young man approaches, she flies up and flies away again; he urges his horse, rushes after the Maid of the Field. The horse fell, and the young man was left alone in the field, sat down and cried with frustration.
A girl came up, sat down next to her and said:
—Are you wearing a hat or not? Why are you crying? Aren't you ashamed? You are probably not a man, but a woman - all you can do is cry. Get up, look around, go and look - the world is big, maybe you will find help for yourself,
The young man stood up, stopped crying, looked around and really saw a house in the distance. I went to the house. His middle sister lived there, married to Pashkunji. The brother came and told his sister everything.
She said:
- Come on, it’s none of your business! And your son-in-law is a bad fellow, and he has been chasing her for a long time, but only the son of death will not catch up with her!
In the evening Pashkunji came home. The young man and Pashkunji told about his affairs. His son-in-law did not praise him:
“If she were so easy to catch, why would I need your sister?” - he said. - Come on, don’t ruin yourself in vain.
“You better give me a horse,” the guest asks.
Pashkunji gave him a horse that could ride two plow harnesses at once. The young man said goodbye to his sister and son-in-law, mounted his horse and rushed off.
The girl flies and is carried on three plow harnesses, but the young man’s horse can only carry two. The young man fell behind, this horse also fell, and the young man was left alone in the open field - no person, no dwelling around.
He became sad, sat down and cried. He cried a lot or a little, but only the Field Maiden came up to him, sat down on the grass, crossed her legs and laughed. Then she got angry with him:
- Get on your feet if you are a man, but if not, you don’t deserve to live like this!
The young man stood up, stopped crying, looked around, and saw a house in the distance. I went to the house. I came up and there was a stream near the house; sat down by the stream, waiting for someone to bring a jug of water to drink. A girl came, brought a jug and set it to the golden groove to draw water. The young man asked him to get a drink.
The girl gave him a jug, he drank the water, dropped a ring into the jug and gave it to the girl. The girl carried the water. The woman drank and a ring rolled out of the jug.
The woman asked:
-Where did you get this ring?
“I didn’t take it anywhere, but the young man at the stream asked for a jug of water to drink, maybe he dropped it.”
“Go and bring him here now,” she told the woman.
A young man came, they hugged and kissed. It was his younger sister. The sister asks what brought him here. He told her everything as it happened.
“Woe to your sister,” she said, “if she were so easy to catch, what would your son-in-law need me for?” He would have brought her as his wife, not me. No one will catch her, otherwise her life will end.
My sister hid my brother.
Gveleshapi came in the evening and asked:
- Nobody came here?
The wife said:
- Nobody came.
Then she said:
“If your wife’s brother came here, what would you do?”
“I wouldn’t have done anything, I would have hugged and kissed him.”
Then the brother’s sister brought him out, and his son-in-law kissed him.
-What brings you here? - asks the son-in-law. - What wind carried you?
The brother told his affairs, his grief and care.
- Oh, die your son-in-law! Why did you take on this matter? If that woman could have been caught so easily, I would not have married your sister. Better leave her and come home.
“No,” the brother replies, “it’s too late to say now—leave her.” I won’t leave her, even if I knew that I would die as soon as I left here. If you want good for me, son-in-law, then give me a horse so that I can immediately go after her.
“Give me a horse for the labor, take at least twenty, at least three times twenty horses,” says the son-in-law, “but I tell you again - you’ll travel for nothing.”
The brother took a horse that could ride on three plow harnesses, said goodbye to his son-in-law and sister, and set off in pursuit of his maiden.
You never know, you traveled a lot, you went to foreign, unfamiliar lands. The horse gallops with three harnesses, and the maiden with four. The third horse also fell. The young man sat down and began to cry. No people around, no human habitation. And the sons-in-law are far away, you can’t find them. There is no one, no one to go to, and no hope. Sits and cries.
The Field Maiden came up, sat down next to the young man, crossed her legs and said:
“You’re crying again, you’re not even ashamed of me!” Are you a man? Fie on your courage! Get up, look around, see whether you see evil or good - turn everything to your advantage!
The young man was ashamed, got up and went. He sees three devils fighting, fighting, killing each other, and no one separates them, not a soul around.
A young man came up and asked:
- Why are you fighting, devils, what didn’t you share?
“And we,” said the elder devil, “have one carpet; if you sit on that carpet and tell it: “Hey, carpet!”, it will take you wherever you want. We also have a comb. No matter how steep the rock is, tell that comb: “Hey, comb!” - he’ll immediately climb up the rock with a ladder, and he’ll walk on it like walking across a field. We also have a sharpener. Dip it into the sea and say: “Hey, sharpener!” - no matter what the sea is, it will drink everything to the bottom and dry it up. It’s this carpet, comb and sharpener that we share, we can’t divide it, that’s why we fight. Won't you judge us?
“Very good,” says the young man, “I’ll share you.” Here I will shoot three arrows - whoever brings the arrow first will get the carpet, whoever will bring the second will get the comb, and whoever will bring the third will get the sharpener.
The devils rejoiced: this is a righteous judgment.
The young man launched arrows over nine mountains. The devils ran, disappeared behind the mountain - the young man sat down on the carpet, took a comb, took a sharpener, shouted: “Hey, carpet!” and flew faster than the wind. He rushed to catch up with his Field Maiden.
She rushes, in a hurry, and only catches up with her carpet. They flew like this all over the field and meadows and flew to high rocks.
The Field Maiden jumped and flew over the rock.
“Hey, comb!” - the young man said to the comb, and a ladder hung on the rock, like your field.
The carpet rushed up the stairs, and the young man again caught up with the girl. They rushed to the huge sea, the girl threw herself into the sea and rushed forward.
“Hey, sharpener!” - said the young man and dipped his whetstone into the sea. The sea immediately dried up. The young man rushed along the dry seabed and was about to catch up with the maiden; he grabbed her by the blanket, but she dodged and flew into her father’s house; only the blanket remained in the young man’s hands.
The Field Maiden entered the house and rushed to her father.
“What’s wrong with you, my daughter, who are you running from?” - asked the father.
She told everything - this way and that, the young man chased me, he chased me right up to the threshold, I caught him, he didn’t catch me, but he tore off the coverlet!
The father came out, hugged the young man and kissed him.
- What kind of son-in-law were you waiting for, this is what you found!
They invited the young man into the house and received him with honor.
And the fate of that maiden was this: if anyone catches her, he will kill her, and if someone turns out to be such a fine fellow that he will follow her home, he will become her husband.
The young man married the Field Maiden and brought her to his country. The maiden of the field and that young man are still alive, and people have seen her fluttering from flower to flower more than once.
Pestilence there, feast here, Elimination there, flour here, Elasa, molasses, A jug hung on me, To the storyteller, to the listener Happiness is for you and me.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru